Study aims to help expectant mums avoid flu

Hunter medical researchers are trying to find out why pregnant women catch colds and the flu more easily and why the symptoms often linger.

Head researcher Peter Gibson says the effects on pregnant women with asthma can be very severe, which is why they are being included in the study.

He says if untreated, respiratory illnesses can threaten both mother and baby.

"If someone has a really severe attack of a virus infection then what happens is that breathing is laboured, they can have severe difficulty breathing and if it progresses the person might have to be hospitalised, they might have a low oxygen level and both the severe illness and low oxygen pose a threat for the baby," he said.

Professor Gibson says the aim is to develop new methods for treating and preventing viral infections during pregnancy.

"Mothers when they're pregnant become quite susceptible to viruses such as influenza and common cold and if they have asthma then the effects of those viruses can be quite severe," he said.

"What we're trying to do is work out why pregnant mothers are more susceptible to these viruses and why the viruses have more severe effects."